Breakdown of Sospetto che l'assassino lasci una traccia.
una
a / an (feminine)
lasciare
to leave (an object)
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
sospettare
to suspect
l'assassino
the murderer (m)
la traccia
the trace
Questions & Answers about Sospetto che l'assassino lasci una traccia.
Why do we use lasci instead of the normal present tense lascia?
Because the main verb sospettare (to suspect) expresses doubt or a personal opinion. In Italian, verbs of opinion, belief, or doubt followed by che trigger the subjunctive mood in the second part of the sentence. That is why we use the present subjunctive lasci.
Lasciare is an -are verb. Why does its subjunctive form end in -i for the he/she/it form?
In the present subjunctive, the vowel endings 'flip' compared to the normal present tense. For regular -are verbs, the endings for I, you, and he/she/it all change to -i. Even though l'assassino is a 'he', the subjunctive form is lasci.
Since the stem of lasciare already has an 'i', does it get a double 'i' at the end?
Is traccia only used for a detective's 'trace' or 'clue'?
No, it is a very versatile word! Beyond a trace or clue, traccia is commonly used to mean a footprint, an animal's track, a trail, or even an audio track on an album or digital playlist.
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